For the second year in a row, Oregon State will not have its entire team at the NCAA women’s gymnastics championships.

But the Beavers will be well represented at the national meet with junior Chelsea Tang and freshman Madeline Gardiner competing in the all-around, and freshman Kaytianna McMillan on balance beam.

“I want to have all my girls there with me,” McMillan said. “It’ll be way better when we’re all there, no doubt.”

After a seven-year run of participating in the NCAA championships, which begin today in Birmingham, Ala., OSU has not made it back as a team since 2012. The Beavers placed third in the six-team NCAA University Park (State College, Pa.) regional April 5 with a respectable score of 196.525, which was just .200 behind runner-up Penn State, the host school.

The top two teams in six, six-team regionals punched their tickets to nationals.

Tang placed second in the all-around (39.475), Gardiner was fourth (39.350), and McMillan tied for first on balance beam (9.850).

Head coach Tanya Chaplin noted that OSU posted one of the top 12 scores in the nation and hit all 24 of its routines.

“I’m proud of the team that went and the job that they did,” Chaplin said. “They were solid across the board.”

The fact that Tang, Gardiner, and McMillan are underclassmen bodes well for next season. The Beavers lose three seniors - Kelsi Blalock, Brittany Harris, and Hannah Casey – and return 19 of 24 routines from the lineup.

Tang has emerged as one of the premier gymnasts in the Pac-12. She competed in all four events – floor, beam, parallel bars, and vault - in every meet, and will be making her second appearance at nationals in the all-around.

“She’s solid. She doesn’t get too high, she doesn’t get too low,” Chaplin said of the first-team all-Pac-12 selection. “I think that’s why she kind of sneaks up on you because she’s steady all the way through.”

“It is a big deal, but at the same time it’s just another meet,” Chang said. “I’m doing the same gymnastics and just try to focus on that, and represent Oregon State as best I can.”

Gardiner was a second-team all-conference selection on beam. McMillan battled injuries throughout the season and hit 18 of her 19 routines.

Junior co-captain Taylor Keeker didn’t make qualify for nationals, but she broke into lineups on vault and bars this season. The McNary High graduate averaged 9.83 on vault and scored a 9.85 at regionals.

“It’s great to see how much she improved and is able to contribute to the team,” Chaplin said.

The team semifinal and all-around competition will be held in two sessions today, with the top three teams from each semifinal moving on to the Super Six competition Saturday, and the top four individuals in each event (plus ties) advancing to the event finals on Sunday.

Florida is the defending national champion. Since the NCAA introduced women’s gymnastics as a championship sport in 1982, only Georgia (10), Utah (nine), UCLA (six), Alabama (six), and Florida (one) have won national team titles.

OSU has placed as high as fourth, but a Super Six appearance has eluded the Beavers in the Chaplin era. The team has made 10 trips to nationals since Chaplin arrived in 1998 with 17 gymnasts combining for 38 all-America honors.

“Obviously the competition success is a big part of our tradition, but also there’s a lot more that you learn along the way about yourself and what these experiences can teach you,” Chaplin said.

Chaplin added that there always will be some disappointment “unless you win a national championship.”

Gardiner said the experience she gains at nationals along with teammates Tang and McMillan should provide a boost for 2015 with the majority of the roster intact.

“I think we’ll be able to come back and tell them what it was like, and motivate them to be there with us too next time, to get the whole team there,” Gardiner said.